Power Street Precinct
Power Street TOORAK, Stonnington City
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Statement of Significance
The Power Street heritage area in Toorak is part of an exceptional suburb within Melbourne featuring consistently fine residential building stock produced predominantly during the twentieth century. The area is outstanding for its consistently high standards of construction and design.
It provides a substantial representation of residential development of the interwar period, superimposed through redevelopment of the large estates of the previous century alongside other remnant buildings of the first wave of limited development during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
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Power Street Precinct - Physical Description 1
The urban conservation area was once part of some grand estates that occupied the land between Kooyong, Toorak and Glenferrie Roads and the railway. The area includes a range of streetscapes of varying period but uniformly high character.
Glenferrie Road itself contains a blend of buildings dating mainly from the twentieth century. The early character of the area is retained in a group of shops at the northern end of the road and in the nearby Federation era railway signal box. However, the principal focus of the streetscape derives from a sequence of early twentieth century and interwar villas and apartment blocks. These include El Tovar (No 459 Glenferrie Road) and Melville Court (No 453 Glenferrie Road).
The area immediately to the west of Glenferrie Road offers a variety of streetscapes unified by the steeply falling land, unusual curved subdivision patterns and extraordinary high standards of architectural design. The number of variety of buildings to designs by major architectural figures includes extensive bodies of work by Robert Bell Hamilton, Walter Butler, the Klingenders and the Kings. This unique conjuction of topographic opportunity, talented designers and wealthy clients combine to produce an area of very attractive and significant architectural streetscapes. Little of the nineteenth century buildings stock associated with the grand mansion estates has survived and the area largely derives its character from buildings constructed between 1910 and 1940.
Stylistically, the area draws from a number of sources. The Old English influence, present in Glenferrie Road is reiterated throughout the area. Fine examples of the style remain in Power Avenue, Moonga Road, Merriwee Crescent and Evans Court with outstanding examples of the idiom at 655 and 657 Toorak Road. Residences drawing on Georgian Revival sources are equally abundant with particularly fine examples in Power Avenue, Glenferrie Road and Moonga Road. The bungalow form appears throughout the area and can be seen in its earliest form in 11 Toorak Avenue and its most highly developed residences such as 3 Glenbervie Road. Other streets are more modest. Warra Street, for example comprises simple Federation dwellings at the eastern end with slightly more substantial interwar bungalows to the west while the Selwyn and Kyeamba Courts offer a restrained mixture of villas and maisonettes of more recent construction. The area is also noteworthy for a handful of less typical residences of considerable individual significance such as Glyn at 224 Kooyong Road by Klingender & Alsop, the former Revell at 9 Toorak Avenue by Edward F Billson or the residences at 1 and 3 Myrnong Crescent.
As might be expected in so desirable district, some redevelopment of the area has taken place in recent years. Toorak Road in particular has suffered some degradation as a result of unsympathetic development in the form of multi storey flats, and for this reason has been left out of the area, with the exception of a group of distinguished houses between Moong aRoad and Power Avenue. Nonetheless, the area has retained its essential characteristics of prestige and quality, with fine houses of the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s dominating the area as a whole.
Power Street Precinct - Local Historical Themes
8.4.1 Houses as a symbol of wealth, status and fashion
8.1.3 The end of an era - mansion estate subdivisions in the twentieth century
8.2.1 Mansion estates and the high ground
Heritage Study and Grading
Stonnington - City of Stonnington Heritage Overlay Report (Stages 1-5) 1998
Author: Bryce Raworth P/L
Year: 1998
Grading: Various
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STONINGTONVictorian Heritage Register H1608
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KATANGAVictorian Heritage Register H0935
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GLYNVictorian Heritage Register H0735
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"1890"Yarra City
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"AMF Officers" ShedMoorabool Shire
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"AQUA PROFONDA" SIGN, FITZROY POOLVictorian Heritage Register H1687
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'ELAINE'Boroondara City
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-oonahYarra City
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..eld HouseYarra City
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